PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department within the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, and the Department of Communication (DCOMM), are urging motorists not to “Drink and Drive” this holiday season.
The holiday season, spanning from Christmas celebrations through the New Year's 2026 transition, is a time of increased social gatherings where alcohol consumption is common.
From a public health standpoint, this period tragically coincides with a predictable surge in impaired driving incidents, posing a grave risk to everyone on Sint Maarten’s roadways.
Alcohol significantly impairs judgment, slows reaction time, and reduces coordination, making the operation of any vehicle unsafe, regardless of how short the distance is.
We urge all citizens to make a clear, preventative choice now: plan for a designated, sober ride before the first drink is consumed.
This simple decision—to use a taxi, designate a sober driver, or utilize public transport—is the difference between celebrating safely and causing a devastating, preventable accident that forever alters lives.
The ripple effect of drinking and driving extends far beyond the immediate accident, placing immense strain on our emergency medical services, police, and healthcare facilities—resources that are often already stretched during the busy holiday period.
Every injury resulting from an impaired driving collision diverts critical resources, personnel, and time away from other medical emergencies.
Therefore, our collective responsibility is to treat not drinking and driving as a crucial public health measure. By prioritizing safety and responsibility during these festive times, especially during the high-risk New Year’s transition, we protect not only our own families and friends but also the entire community's safety and the capacity of our island’s emergency infrastructure.
The emphasis is on keeping everyone driving on our roads safe this festive season.
The following appeal is part of CPS’s annual Safe Holidays campaign in conjunction with DCOMM.
VROMI completes training for new weighbridge operators in collaboration with NRPB.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) is pleased to announce that the team assigned to operate the newly installed weighbridge at the landfill has successfully completed their training. The sessions were conducted in close collaboration with the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) as part of continued efforts to modernize Sint Maarten’s waste management system.
This week, operational staff received hands-on instruction on both the technical and software components of the weighbridge system. The training ensured that operators are fully equipped to manage the scale, accurately document waste entering the landfill, and maintain the system safely and efficiently. Key areas covered included system calibration, data logging, reporting functions, and safety protocols.
The weighbridge, installed under the Emergency Debris Management Program (EDMP), funded by the Trust Fund, represents a major step forward in improving data-driven waste management. With trained personnel now in place, the Ministry is preparing to activate a more structured and transparent approach to tracking waste volumes. This supports long-term goals such as informed decision-making, improved landfill monitoring, and the eventual implementation of waste-related fees to finance the sector sustainably.
Minister of VROMI Patrice Gumbs thanked the operators, VROMI staff, the NRPB team, and contractors AVTO and Elicom for their ongoing commitment. “This training is an important milestone. Ensuring our staff are confident and capable in operating the weighbridge moves us closer to a modern, accountable waste management system. These advancements are necessary if we want to achieve the clean and sustainable future we envision for Sint Maarten,” Minister Gumbs stated. He reiterated the EDMP message: “It will take all of us.”
VROMI and NRPB will continue to work together as the EDMP progresses toward its mission to rehabilitate the current landfill and improve long-term waste management infrastructure.
Dr. Johan Datema Sworn in as New Member of the Integrity Chamber.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Newly appointed Member of the Integrity Chamber, Dr. J.E. (Johan) Datema, was sworn in by His Excellency, Governor Ajamu Baly, on Monday, December 8, 2025, to serve a three-year term. Dr. Datema’s appointment by the Government of Sint Maarten marks the addition of a highly experienced professional whose extensive background in medicine and public service will support the Chamber’s continued work in promoting integrity in Sint Maarten. He joins the Chamber as the successor to Mr. Rafael Boasman, who completed two full terms totaling six years of dedicated service to the Chamber.
Dr. Datema holds a master’s degree in medicine from Erasmus University in Rotterdam and brings over four decades of medical and public service experience to the Integrity Chamber. He has been in private practice on Sint Maarten for 38 years and has served as Treasurer of the Windward Islands Medical Association (WIMA) for 33 years. His longstanding commitment to the medical community also includes service on multiple advisory committees, including the APS Advisory Committee and the Medical Disciplinary Board. He previously served on the Advisory Council for Public Health, Social Development, and Labor (VSA).
Dr. Datema will combine his duties as a Member of the Integrity Chamber with several management positions in the private sector. With his extensive experience in leadership, public service, and community engagement, he is expected to bring valuable perspectives to the Chamber’s ongoing efforts to promote transparency, accountability, and integrity across Sint Maarten.
For more information about the Integrity Chamber, visit www.integritychamber.sx.
CBCS Hosts 3rd Annual Fintech Conference in Sint Maarten.
~“Trust, Transparency and Technology: Regulating the Next Wave of Fintech”~
PHILIPSBURG:--- On December 4 and 5, 2025, the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) hosted its 3rd Annual Fintech Conference at Simpson Bay Resort in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten. The two-day conference featured a closed roundtable session for regulators on Thursday, followed by a public conference on Friday, bringing together central bankers, innovators, and fintech experts from across the Caribbean and LatAm region, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The conference highlighted the Central Bank's vital role in shaping the future of finance.
This year’s key themes were centered around Payments Innovation & Digital Assets Regulation, Fintech as driver of financial inclusion in LatAm & the Caribbean, Stablecoins & Digital Finance, and The Future of Banking, including developments in the Neobanks space.
The conference’s central theme - Trust, transparency and technology: regulating the next wave of fintech - emphasized the important role central banks play in future-proofing financial regulation that supports innovation. While regulation is essential in protecting consumers, fostering an environment that encourages innovation is equally important.
In his keynote speech, Richard Doornbosch, president of the CBCS, stressed the great promise fintech holds to bring financial services to underserved and unbanked populations. The regulatory framework must evolve in a way that creates space while safeguarding stability and integrity.
Various fireside chat sessions and panel discussions demonstrated the need for tailored solutions to local and - where possible - regional challenges. Differences in the payment landscapes in LatAm and the Caribbean were discussed with highlighted examples and shared regional success stories of Sint Maarten, Curaçao, Aruba, and the Bahamas. In addition, conversations centered on digital payment frictions in the still highly cash-based, tourism-dependent economies of Sint Maarten & Curaçao. Moreover, the pros and cons of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) were briefly touched upon, as well as developments pertaining to the promises of tokenization and respective underlying (fractional) ownership implications. Furthermore, the role of data centers as enablers of financial inclusion was briefly discussed, through which
sovereign control over data was emphasized. Discussions were further focused on the future of banking, whereby panelists emphasized the power of co-existence and co-creation. These conversations highlighted the important role of both traditional banks and neobanks. As enablers of access to financial services for both existing and underserved communities, they can support tailor-made financial innovations.
The conference concluded with representatives from the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) & The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) committing to helping advance the region in accelerating its fintech and payments ecosystem. As a first step, the gaps in the existing payments infrastructure should be identified and mapped based on the outcomes of the conference. The CBCS applauds this initiative and welcomes collaboration aimed at enhancing the financial resilience of the monetary union.
With its annual Fintech Conference, the CBCS aims to engage stakeholders, including innovators, policymakers, regulators, and the (wider) public, in critical and actual conversations centered around financial innovation development in relation to digital finance regulation within the monetary union.
Willemstad, December 11, 2025
CENTRALE BANK VAN CURAÇAO EN SINT MAARTEN
Prime Minister Dr. Luc F.E. Mercelina Reflects on Constitutional Autonomy of Sint Maarten and calls for Kingdom Summit.
PHILIPSBURG:--- During the 36th InterExpo Kingdom Relations Congress, held under the theme “Fifteen Years After 10/10/10,” the Honorable Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, Dr. Luc F.E. Mercelina, delivered a landmark presentation titled “15 years of Constitutional Autonomy.”
Speaking before Kingdom officials, scholars, and regional leaders, the Prime Minister urged participants to look beyond the last fifteen years and instead examine 170 years of constitutional interventions, restructuring, and negotiation that shaped the Kingdom of the Netherlands and, critically, shaped Sint Maarten’s present-day reality.
“The real question we must ask ourselves is not what the past fifteen years have done to Sint Maarten and our Kingdom partners, but rather: how has our long and complex history shaped these past fifteen years of autonomy within the Kingdom? Prime Minister Mercelina asked in the opening of his address
He connected this history to personal lineage, stating, “For me, this timeline speaks of the story of my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, and myself each living through a different stage of our island’s constitutional journey.”
He walked the audience through the major constitutional developments beginning in 1828, including the administrative merger with Suriname, the abolition of slavery in 1863, the creation of the Netherlands Antilles in 1951, the establishment of the Kingdom Charter in 1954, Suriname’s independence in 1975, Aruba’s status aparte in 1986, and the referenda of 1994 and 2000 that culminated in Sint Maarten’s attainment of country status in 2010.
The Prime Minister emphasized the reality that followed the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, explaining, “Sint Maarten was and remains a constituent state instead of a full autonomous country. Let me repeat — Sint Maarten is not a full autonomous country, and that is the constitutional reality we live in today.”
He noted that only five generations of Sint Maarteners have lived through these seismic shifts in governance arrangements. Turning to the period after 10-10-10, the Prime Minister spoke candidly about the political mindset that emerged.
“We became hypnotized by the idea of independence. From the moment we achieved country status, we were carried away on an emotional journey, constantly trying to prove to our Mother Land that we could stand on our own.”
He added that this fixation came at a significant cost, “We were so focused on proving ourselves that we forgot something essential — to build constructive and sustainable alliances with other Caribbean countries within and outside the Kingdom.”
He emphasized that realities such as the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic disruptions revealed how vulnerable small island states are when isolated. These experiences led to several key lessons.
The Prime Minister stressed that independence pursued in isolation is neither viable nor responsible. The major pillars of any society, such as health care and education, must be strengthened to support a viable path for St. Maarten to pursue full autonomy and ultimately independence.
“Sint Maarten must literally look across our own border and at our own horizon. We must embrace our closest neighbors — French Saint Martin, Anguilla, Saba, Statia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Barths, Montserrat — who face the same challenges we do.”
He further stated that nation-building requires adequate financing: “We must be honest: nation-building is expensive.”
The Prime Minister emphasized the inherent costliness of the constitutional structure inherited after 10-10-10, noting that small countries carry disproportionately heavy administrative and institutional burdens.
He then turned toward the future of Kingdom cooperation, calling for a model that reflects contemporary realities. He emphasized the need for direct relationships between countries, a Kingdom structure grounded in respect for differences rather than forced similarities, and a shift toward treating each country as a co-owner of the Kingdom rather than a stakeholder. He also called for closer collaboration and shared responsibilities in areas such as defense, healthcare, and education, and proposed the establishment of a Kingdom Political Dialogue Platform.
In his words, “If the Kingdom is to remain relevant for the next generation, it must become more flexible, more equitable, and more aligned with the realities of Caribbean societies.”
Later in the afternoon, Prime Minister Mercelina participated in the high-level panel moderated by Prof. Dr. Ernst Hirsch Ballin, alongside former Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Deputy Prime Minister of Curacao Charles Cooper During the discussion, he reiterated that constitutional evolution is a living process. “The constitutional structure we inherited is not sacred; it is adjustable.”
“A modern Kingdom must be based on equality, trust and mutual respect, and the recognition that each country brings strengths shaped by its own history.”
Closing his remarks, Prime Minister Mercelina reaffirmed his commitment to the people of Sint Maarten, stating, “Our autonomy means nothing unless it improves the lives of our people.
Responsible autonomy — supported by strong institutions, regional partnerships, and a modernized Kingdom framework — is the only path forward. I think that this will require high-level discussions with the incoming Government of the Netherlands on a new positive agenda for the Kingdom. Moreover, I will seek the support of the Council of Ministers and Parliament of Sint Maarten to formally invite the Netherlands, Aruba and Curacao for a Kingdom summit to walk the talk”.